The Peak District
Gritstone edges and limestone dales, within an hour of a third of England.
High point: Kinder Scout, 636 m
Where to base yourself
Bakewell
A market town at one end of an old railway.
Castleton
Caves, a castle, and the ridge that closed a road.
Station: Hope
Edale
The end of the road, and the start of the Pennine Way.
Station: Edale
Hartington
Duck pond, cheese shop, three limestone dales on the doorstep.
Hathersage
A station, a pool, and Britain's best-known gritstone edge.
Station: Hathersage
Hot tubs in the Peak District
Penistone, near Sheffield, Yorkshire
Barn Owl at Boots and Bubbles
Sleeps 2 · 1 bed
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- No dogs
Walks
Cave Dale
A short, steep circular walk from Castleton up a dry limestone gorge, past Peveril Castle.
- 6 km
- 256 m up
- 2.5 hr
- Moderate
Kinder Scout via Grindsbrook Clough
A hard circular walk from Edale onto the Kinder Scout plateau, ascending Grindsbrook Clough and returning via Jacob's Ladder.
- 12.7 km
- 526 m up
- 5.5 hr
- Hard
Lathkill Dale from Over Haddon
An easy circular walk from Over Haddon into Lathkill Dale, a National Nature Reserve on the River Lathkill.
- 5 km
- 130 m up
- 2 hr
- Easy
Mam Tor and the Great Ridge
A circular walk onto Mam Tor's summit and along the start of the Great Ridge, including the abandoned Broken Road.
- 4.2 km
- 239 m up
- 2 hr
- Moderate
The Monsal Trail from Bakewell
An easy, flat there-and-back walk along the former Midland Railway line from Bakewell's old station to Hassop.
- 12.9 km
- 3 hr
- Easy
Stanage Edge
A circular walk along the top of Stanage Edge, the three-mile gritstone escarpment above Hathersage, taking in the High Neb trig point.
- 7.7 km
- 217 m up
- 2.5 hr
- Moderate
Views without the walk
Curbar Edge
A gritstone edge above the Derwent Valley reached directly from Curbar Gap car park, with views to Chatsworth and Baslow.
- Drive to it
- Faces west
Monsal Head
A viewpoint over Monsal Dale and the Headstone Viaduct, reached directly from a roadside car park.
- Drive to it
- View all round
Surprise View
A roadside viewpoint above Hathersage looking across the Hope Valley to Mam Tor and the Great Ridge.
- Drive to it
- View all round
Winnats Pass
A dramatic limestone gorge on the road west out of Castleton, cut along the edge of a 340-million-year-old reef.
- Drive to it
- View all round
Adventure
Watersports on Ladybower Reservoir
Permit-based access for canoes, kayaks and paddleboards on Ladybower Reservoir, owned and managed by Severn Trent Water.
- watersports
Peak Cavern
Britain's largest natural cave entrance, a show cave beneath Peveril Castle with a history of rope-making inside its mouth.
- caving
- Peak Cavern
- from £22.25
Climbing on Stanage Edge
Britain's best-known gritstone climbing venue, three miles of edge above Hathersage with routes at every grade.
- climbing
Trips
- A week in Bakewell without a hard day 6 nights
- Kinder Scout and Castleton, from Edale 3 nights
- Hathersage by train, Stanage on foot 5 nights